Magic World Championship 31 just came and went, and we’re already seeing massive ramifications as a result. The breakout Izzet Lessons deck skyrocketed a few cards in price following its dominant performance. Seth Manfield, one of the most accredited players in Magic, took team TCGplayer’s list to his second World Championship victory after starting the tournament 0-2. This, by all accounts, is a legendary run on paper.
Unfortunately, the incredible run is mired in some controversy thanks to some bizarre occurrences in Manfield’s top-eight game versus Ken Yukuhiro. He was allowed to take back two spells over the course of the set, something that is considered by many to be illegal in competitive play. While this is technically allowed in competitive play, under specific circumstances, many MTG players weren’t happy about it.
The Controversy
In Manfield’s top-eight set, he played against Ken Yukihiro on Sultai Reanimator. This is a very difficult matchup for the Izzet Lessons deck. Despite this, Manfield managed a 3-0 result against Yukihiro due in large part to the Reanimator deck failing to function. That said, Manfield did take back two plays that could have had larger implications on the set if they were forced to proceed.
The first play occurred in game two, involving Manfield trying to use It’ll Quench Ya! on a Broodspinner that had been made uncounterable Cavern of Souls. The second instance allowed a take back on a Boomerang Basics that, if it were to resolve, would have cost Manfield the game due to being unable to discard enough cards to kill the opponent before decking out. Both take-backs are basically unheard of at competitive MTG play at this level, and therefore have players extremely heated. Heck, even the casting team thought Manfield’s take-back was unjustified.
All of that said, according to the rules, you are allowed to take back a play at any competitive level so long as you haven’t gained any additional information as a result of the play that occurred. That said, whether or not additional information is gained is at the judge’s discretion. So, the judge can give you the ok to reverse a decision, but without a judge’s consent, players do not have the right to reverse decisions.
In the case of Manfield vs Yukihiro, it was deemed that Manfield did not gain any additional information from either of the reversed decisions. Despite this, many MTG players are still having their say online, hotly debating this contentious call and the ramifications of it. This is further muddied by Yukihiro not speaking fluent English, making it difficult for him to defend his position.
Strike One
Surprisingly, the reaction to the two take-backs that happened at Magic World Championship 31 has been wildly different. Most players agree that the It’ll Quench Ya! take-back isn’t as egregious as the second one. While Manfield did put the card on the table and move treasure tokens he cracked, they were moved back just as quickly in one swift motion. Due to this, the mistake felt very much like an in-the-moment goof that simply forgot about Cavern of Soul’s ability.
At lower levels of play, you’d absolutely expect a mistake like this to be handled with a take-back. Not only is it clearly an accident, but the only information that was revealed was Manfield’s It’ll Quench Ya!. If anything, this puts him in a worse position going forward, so an extra penalty feels like rubbing salt in the wound.
That said, while mistakes can happen, especially with MTG’s obscene number of rules and interactions, these players are pros. The World Championships, in fact, are the best of the best of the best, so you wouldn’t expect mistakes here. Having these mistakes not only happen, but also go unpunished, feels off and hurts the event’s image.
Realistically, even if it does look bad, this take-back feels like the exact situation the rules were made for. While it looks bad, it’s a simple mistake that didn’t gain Manfield any advantage and took barely a second to fix. Unfortunately, the second take-back is far deeper into the grey area of this rule.
Strike Two
The second take-back, to Boomerang Basics, has been a lot more controversial. Unlike It’ll Quench Ya!, which debatably wasn’t officially cast, Boomerang Basics landed on the table and was acknowledged by Yukuhiro, suggesting priority had passed back and forth. After that, the copy of Boomerang Basics sat on the table for 27 seconds while Manfield thought before getting the judge.
Once the judge was called, Manfield asked if he could take it back, and explicitly said, “I already cast it.” Despite this, Manfield was allowed to take the play back, which led to him winning the game. In theory, this still follows the rules, as Yukuhiro didn’t reveal anything for Manfield to gain information. At the same time, however, things aren’t arguably that simple.
While Yukuhiro didn’t respond to Boomerang Basics, he did verbally acknowledge it and let the play happen. Due to this, it’s possible to argue that Yukuhiro revealed he didn’t have any responses to stop Manfield’s plans. In theory, Manfield could have exploited this assumed information after taking back the play. This is notably something directly mentioned in the official rulings as ‘gaining information.’
Realistically, it’s very unlikely that this is what Manfield was doing while Boomerang Basics was on the board. Instead, it’s more likely that Manfield was double-checking his calculations before realizing his mistake would cost him the game. Much like the It’ll Quench Ya! take-back, this would make it an honest mistake, but it doesn’t exactly feel that way.
Ultimately, this feel was down to the judge at the table to dictate, and it was all okay in their book. Technically, this does follow the letter of the law, since no information was physically revealed. Problems emerge, however, when you consider that Yukihiro doesn’t speak fluent English, so he could have misunderstood what was happening.
Concerns About Clarity
At the very least, this second take-back makes Magic World Championship 31 a lot muddier. It certainly doesn’t help appearances that Manfield went on to win the entire event, as it makes the take-backs impossible to ignore. That said, these rules are there for a reason, and the first take-back is a perfect example of that.
Even then, however, there’s a big question around whether or not take-backs should be legal at this ultra-high level of play. Given the stakes and expectations, many MTG players simply aren’t aware that take-backs are a thing at this level of play. Notably, they are there for a reason, and it’s not just because we as human beings can make genuine mistakes.
Without the partial safety net of take-backs, the speed of play could slow to a crawl, as every play needs to be calculated to perfection. While it took Manfield 27 sections to realize his mistake post-play, it could have taken a lot longer while in the hand. Admittedly, this is speculation, but with so much on the line, it makes sense that players would want to be absolutely certain about decisions.
Even then, as a spectator, the lack of clarity around when these rulings are enforceable is a big problem. The current ruling makes it very unclear when information is considered to have been gained or not. This makes it difficult to know how a ruling is supposed to resolve, and what feels fair as a result.
Regardless of the correct outcome, the plays certainly tainted the result of the World Championship for many. To that end, it would be ideal to receive a statement from Wizards of the Coast, clearing up or adjusting the ruling, specifically to make it clear what is considered gained information in these situations. Unfortunately, there’s no guarantee we’ll get such a statement anytime soon, so we can only hope this situation doesn’t arise again.
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